Gold Terra Resource Corp. begins trading today on OTCQX under the symbol “TRXXF.”  U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.

The OTCQX Market is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. Graduating to the OTCQX Market from the OTCQB Market marks an important milestone for companies, enabling them to demonstrate their qualifications and build visibility among U.S. investors.

“With the resurgence of the gold market and the Company’s recent exploration success on its YCG project, we are delighted to be traded on the OTCQX,” said David Suda, President and CEO of the Company. “Trading on OTCQX is a reflection of our increased focus on growing our investor base in the U.S. as we continue to build awareness and unlock the potential of our gold project in Yellowknife.”

Highlights include (all results are reported in U.S. Dollars^*):

• After-tax IRR of 22.9% and NPV_5% of $576 million based on $1,475/oz gold increasing to 32.2% and $915 million at $1,750/oz gold and 38.3% and $1,156 million at $1,950/oz spot gold prices (see Table 1)
  
• Projected gold production of 220,000 oz average per year for the first 5 years and 246,000 oz average per year for the first 14 years
  
• Open pit mine life of 14 years and total mine life of 22 years with future underground development
  
• Initial capital of (“CAPEX”) of $333 million, including all mine pre-production costs, net of existing infrastructure (access road, power line, tailings facility, substation, camp, water treatment plant)
  
• After-tax payback of 4.0 years at base case $1,475/oz gold
  
• Average cash operating costs of $919/oz gold and all-in sustaining costs of $1,051/oz gold
  
• Cumulative cashflow of $1.27 billion after tax and $2.04 billion pre-tax over 22 years on base case assumptions
  
• Payable Gold of 3.8 million ounces, payable Copper of 265 million lbs and payable Silver of 1.5 million ounces
  
• Average strip ratio for the open pit life of the mine estimated at 3.9:1

^*Assuming a US$:C$ exchange of $0.74. All figures reported in US$ unless stated otherwise

Justin Reid, CEO of Troilus Gold, commented “The entire Troilus team is pleased to present the results of our PEA, clearly demonstrating the potential for our project to become a major contributor as a large North American gold producer. The PEA supports: a project with production spanning 22 years, robust potential economics at discounted and current gold prices, low CAPEX, low capital intensity, and a rapid payback. The first 14 years will target production in excess of 246,000 ounces gold per year peaking at in excess of 300,000 ounces in Year 5. The Troilus Geological team has demonstrated the ability to identify an abundance of untested targets and has a track record of adding significant ounces over a very short period of time. We believe the Troilus property has the potential to extend the mine life beyond the projected 22 years presented in the PEA and provide the opportunity to expand the scale in the future by continuing to seek increases to the mineral resource estimate with ongoing exploration and drilling.  Our goal is to make this a cornerstone mining Project within both the Quebec and Canadian Gold landscapes.” 

“We believe the Project provides a strong foundation for building and growing the company in a mining friendly jurisdiction. With a strong treasury to support next steps, we will now be commencing pre-feasibility work and working towards finalization of an Environmental Impact Study for the Project while continuing to explore the geological potential of the 107,000-hectare Troilus property.  We look forward to working with our partners in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region including the Cree Nation of Mistissini, the Cree Nation Government, the local communities of Chibougamau and Chapais, and with the support of the Quebec and federal governments, to advance the Troilus Project.”

Financial Analysis

At a Base Case US$1,475 per ounce gold price and a US$:C$ exchange of $0.74, the Project generates an after-tax Net Present Value (NPV) of US$576M, at a 5% discount rate and an Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”) of 22.9%. Payback on initial capital is 4 years. Before taxes, NPV at a 5% discount rate is US$971M, IRR is 29.6% and payback is 3.7 years.

Table 1: Summary of Troilus Gold Economic Results by Gold Price (US$)

	Spot Price	Consensus	Base Case	Low Case
Gold Price (per oz)	$1,950	$1,750	$1,475	$1,350
Pre-Tax NPV (5%)	$1,951 million	$1,538 million	$971 million	$713 million
Pre-Tax IRR	50.1%	41.8%	29.6%	23.7%
Post-Tax NPV (5%)	$1,156 million	$915 million	$576 million	$419 million
Post-Tax IRR (%)	38.3%	32.2%	22.9%	18.2%

The Project generates cumulative cash flow of US$1.27 billion on a post-tax basis and US$2.04 billion pre-tax, at a Base Case of US$1,475 per ounce gold price based on a throughput of 35,000 tpd over 22 years.  The PEA assumes an open pit operation for the first fourteen years with the underground operation coming online starting in year 8.

The PEA is preliminary in nature, includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

To view Figure 1: Post-Tax Cash Flow and Cumulative Cash Flow (US$) please click the following link: 

Capital and Operating Costs

The PEA capital and operating cost estimates for the Troilus Gold Project are summarized below. The Initial CAPEX (net of existing infrastructure) is US$333 million and Sustaining CAPEX over the life of the mine is an additional US$506 million. The underground mine will require US$240 million of initial underground capital in years 6 to 8 and US$175 million in sustaining capital to maintain the underground operation. The underground will start development with first mill feed projected to come online in Year 8. All in Sustaining Cost (“AISC”) is US$1,051 per ounce Au.

Table 2: Troilus Project Capital Expenditure Estimates Breakdown (US$)

Initial Capital
Open Pit Mining	$78 Million
Process	$172 Million
Infrastructure	$36 Million
Owners Cost	$11 Million
Contingency	$36 Million
Total – Initial Capital	$333 Million*
Sustaining Capital
Open Pit Mining	$5 Million
Initial Underground Capital	$240 Million
Underground Sustaining CAPEX (Life of underground)	$175 Million
Process	$22 Million
Infrastructure	$19 Million
Environmental	$19 Million
Contingency	$26 Million
Total – Sustaining Capital	$506 Million

*net of existing infrastructure (access road, power line, substation, tailings facility, water treatment plant, site roads)

Table 3: Summary of Troilus Gold Project Operating Cost Estimates (US$)

Average Life-of-Mine Operating Cost
Mining – Open Pit	$9.35/tonne milled
Mining – Underground	$14.36/tonne milled
Processing	$4.99/tonne milled
G&A	$1.42/tonne milled
Concentrate Transport	$0.23/tonne milled
Total Operating Cost	$17.10/tonne milled
Cash Operating Cost	$919/oz Au
All in Sustaining Cost	$1,051/oz Au

Projected gold production averages 220,000 oz per year over the first 5 years, 246,000 oz per year for the first 14 years and 98,000 from year 15 onwards. Projected payable Gold is 3.8 million ounces, payable Copper 265 million lbs and payable Silver 1.5 million ounces over the 22-year mine life.

To view Figure 2: Production Profile – Gold, Silver and Copper^* please click the following link: 

Mining

The PEA considers an initial open pit mining using a 100% owner operated equipment fleet including 28- 181 tonne trucks, electric hydraulic shovels, wheel loaders and drills. The open pit will overlap mill feed production with the underground mine starting in year 8. The open pit will be complete in Year 14 and the underground mine will continue production until Year 22. The mine has been designed to deliver an initial 12.6 million tonnes per year (35,000 tonnes per day) of mill feed. The PEA contemplates a mine that will extract mill feed over a 22‑year period not including 12 months of pre-production stripping. The PEA delivers 192.5 million tonnes with average head grades of 0.71 gpt gold, 0.08% copper and 0.97 gpt silver. The process plant is expected to have three months of commissioning in the first year of production.

The project will mine three areas: 87 Zone, J Zone and the new Southwest (SW) Zone. The 87 Zone will have a single-phase open pit followed by underground mining. The J Zone has been designed with 3 phases of open pit only for this study.  The SW Zone design is comprised of 2 open pit phases. Mining commences in the 87 Zone pit and SW Zone pit areas in the pre-production period. The J Zone pit area starts production in Year 2. The 87 Zone pit will be complete in Year 6 and the underground mine will continue beneath the open pit from that point onwards. The SW Zone pit will be finished in Year 12. The J Zone pit will finish in Year 14. Underground mining finishes in Year 22. Waste from the open pits will be backfilled in the 87 Zone pit once open pit mining is complete. This provides fill for the underground and short waste haulage for the J Zone pit phases, reducing the overall size of the waste storage facilities.

The average strip ratio for the open pit life of the mine is estimated at 3.9:1. Material movement averages 71 million tonnes (feed and waste) in the first 5 years with the peak at 74 million tonnes in Year 1. The open pit will provide 150.1 million tonnes of feed to the process plant for the first 14 years of the project.  Open pit bench heights of 10 metres will be mined and ore hauled with 181-tonne haul trucks and matching loading equipment including electric hydraulic shovels. The open pit mining fleet will be leased.  Best practice grade control drilling will be done with reverse circulation drilling and rock sampling on mine benches prior to blasting. This provides the greatest flexibility for grade control during operations while maintaining reasonable mine operating costs and production capability.

Underground mine development will commence in Year 6 and first mill feed to the plant from underground occurs in Year 8. The underground mine will be located beneath the 87 Zone pit and utilize sub-level caving along the edges of the open pit and slot and mass blast in the lower levels. The portal is located adjacent to the primary crusher. Mill feed material and waste will be brought to the surface initially with trucks but will transition to the RailVeyor system for the life of the mine. The underground mine will ramp up production from its initial levels to 9,000 tpd by Year 9 and maintain that rate until the end of the mine life.

During the mining operation a stockpile will be maintained adjacent to the primary crushing plant to be used as supplemental feed as required to meet production targets, weather events and as mill feed in the later years of the operation. Waste rock will be hauled to dedicated waste management facilities near the open pits, backfilled into the 87 Zone pit and also used for lifts of the tailings management facility. Concurrent reclamation of the waste management facilities is planned. 

Metallurgy

Initial test work was completed by COREM and Kappes Cassidy as well the historical operating data, to develop the flow sheet. The process plant consists of primary crushing, SAG and ball milling with gravity gold concentration, copper flotation, concentrate filtration and tailings thickening and disposal. Copper concentrate, enriched with gold, will then be sent to a smelter for refining. Gold recovery is estimated to be 90%, with 30% produced onsite as gravity concentrate and the balance contained in the final copper concentrate. Copper recovery is expected to be 90%.

Infrastructure

The Troilus Gold Project is located in Quebec, approximately 120 kilometres north of Chibougamau, where Inmet Mining Corporation operated a large mine/concentrator complex from 1996 – 2010. Access to the mine site from Chibougamau is by the Route du Nord. 

The Troilus project benefits greatly from the upgraded, and substantial infrastructure on site including:

• Power line and 50MW substation sufficient for project power requirements,
• All weather access road,
• Tailings facility and water treatment plant,
• Camp facilities,
• Site roads,
• Water supply,
• Septic system.

The existing tailings management facility has the capacity to accommodate the life of mine production as described in this PEA. As part of the design it is proposed to develop the tailings dam into a centreline constructed containment from the existing upstream designed containment. The building of this containment wall will utilise waste rock from the mine operations.

A NI 43-101 technical report supporting the PEA to be prepared by AGP will be posted on Troilus Gold’s website at and on SEDAR at , within 45 days following this news release.

Mineral Resources Estimate

The total estimated indicated Mineral Resource Estimate upon which the PEA is based includes 4.96 Moz AuEq (177 Mt with an average grade of 0.87 g/t AuEq) and a total inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 3.15 Moz AuEq (116.7 Mt with an average grade of 0.84 g/t AuEq). 

Table 4 – Mineral Resource Estimate– Effective as of July 20, 2020

Classification	Tonnage (Mt)	AuEq (g/t)	Au (g/t)	Cu (%)	Ag (g/t)	Contained AuEQ (Moz)	Contained Gold (Moz)	Contained Copper (Mlb)	Contained Silver (Moz)
Indicated	177.3	0.87	0.75	0.08	1.17	4.96	4.30	322.60	6.66
Inferred	116.7	0.84	0.73	0.07	1.04	3.15	2.76	189.73	3.91

Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability; Summation errors may occur due to rounding; Open pit mineral resources are reported within an optimized constraining shells.

Open pit cut-off grade is 0.3 gpt AuEQ where the metal equivalents were calculated as follows:

• Z87 Zone: AuEq = Au grade + 1.2566 * Cu grade + 0.0103 * Ag grade
• J4/J5 Zone: AuEq = Au grade + 1.2979 * Cu grade + 0.0108 * Ag grade
• SW Zone: AuEq = Au grade + 1.2768 * Cu grade + 0.0106 * Ag grade

Metal prices for the AuEQ formulas are: $US 1,600/ oz Au; $3.25/lb Cu, and $20.00/ oz Ag; with an exchange rate of US$1.00:CAD$1.30;
Metal recoveries for the AuEQ formulas are:

• Z87 Zone: 83% for Au recovery, 92% for Cu recovery and 76% for Ag recovery
• J4/J5 Zone: 82% for Au recovery, 88% for Cu recovery and 76% for Ag recovery
• SW Zone: 82.5% for Au recovery, 90% for Cu recovery and 76% for Ag recovery

The resource constraining shells were generated with:

• Metal Prices: Gold $US 1600/oz, Copper $US 3.25/lb, Silver $US 20/oz
• Mining Costs:
  o J Zone and 87 Zone base cost $Cdn 1.71/t moved,
  o SW Zone base cost $Cdn 1.66/t moved
  o Incremental cost $Cdn 0.03/t waste moved, $Cdn 0.02/t feed moved
• Process and G&A Costs: $Cdn 8.44/t processed
• Wall slopes: varied between 49.5 to 60 degrees depending on pit area and slope sector
• Metal Recoveries:
  o Gold: 90% all zones except in lower grade (Au<1/2 g/t) portions of SW zone = 88%
  o Copper: 90% all zones except in higher grade (Cu%>0.13%) portions of SW zone = 92%
  o Silver: all zones 40%

Underground cut-off grade is 0.9 AuEQ at Z87 Zone and J4/J5 Zone

The Mineral Resource estimate used for the PEA is effective as of July 20, 2020 and unchanged since the previously reported Mineral Resource estimate in the technical report entitled “Technical Report on the Troilus Gold-Copper Project Mineral Resource Estimate, Quebec, Canada” which was prepared by Mr. Paul Daigle, géo., Senior Associate Resource Geologist with AGP Mining Consultants Inc. (AGP) and filed on SEDAR at  on August 28, 2020 (the “Resources Report”). Mr. Daigle is an independent Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”).

PEA Review Conference Call & Webcast

Troilus will be hosting a conference call to review the results of the PEA at 9:00 am EST, on Tuesday September 1, 2020. Chief Executive Officer, Justin Reid, Senior Vice-President of Technical Services, Ian Pritchard, and other members of the Troilus leadership team will be on the call to discuss the PEA results and latest corporate developments.  Please click the link below to join the webinar:

Or iPhone one-tap:
US: +16699006833,87934871258# or +19292056099,87934871258#

Or Telephone:
Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 346 248 7799

Webinar ID: 879 3487 1258
International numbers available:

Qualified Person

All technical information, not pertaining to the PEA, in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Bertrand Brassard, M.Sc., P.Geo., Chief Geologist, who is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Brassard has verified the technical data contained in this press release using industry accepted standards.  Mr. Brassard is an employee of Troilus and is not independent of the Company under NI 43-101.

The mineral resource estimate disclosed in this press release was prepared by Mr. Paul Daigle, géo., Senior Associate Resource Geologist with AGP, and the supporting Resources Report was filed on SEDAR () under the Company’s issuer profile on August 28, 2020.  Mr. Paul Daigle, who is an independent Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the mineral resource estimate disclosed in this press release.

The PEA was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) of the Canadian Securities Administrators  under the direction and supervision of Gord Zurowski, P. Eng Principal Mining Engineer with AGP, and the supporting Technical Report (the “Technical Report”) will be available on SEDAR () under the Company’s issuer profile within 45 calendar days.  Mr. Zurowski, who is an independent Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information pertaining to the PEA disclosed in this press release.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

The Company has included certain non-IFRS financial measures in this news release, such as Initial Capital Cost, Cash Operating Costs ,Total Cash Cost, All-In Sustaining Cost, Expansion Capital and Capital Intensity, which are not measures recognized under IFRS and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. As a result, these measures may not be comparable to similar measures reported by other corporations. Each of these measures used are intended to provide additional information to the user and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Non-IFRS financial measures used in this news release and common to the gold mining industry are defined below.

Total Cash Costs and Total Cash Costs per Ounce

Total Cash Costs are reflective of the cost of production. Total Cash Costs reported in the PEA include mining costs, processing & water treatment costs, general and administrative costs of the mine, off-site costs, refining costs, transportation costs and royalties. Total Cash Costs per Ounce is calculated as Total Cash Costs divided by payable gold ounces. 

All-in Sustaining Costs (“AISC”) and AISC per Ounce

AISC is reflective of all of the expenditures that are required to produce an ounce of gold from operations. AISC reported in the PEAS includes total cash costs, sustaining capital, expansion capital and closure costs, but excludes corporate general and administrative costs and salvage. AISC per Ounce is calculated as AISC divided by payable gold ounces.

Gold Terra begins trading today on OTCQX under the same symbol “TRXXF”. U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.

“With the resurgence of the gold market and the Company’s recent exploration success on its YCG project, we are delighted to be trading on the OTCQX,” said David Suda, President and CEO of the Company. “Trading on OTCQX is a reflection of our increased focus on growing our investor base in the U.S. as we continue to build awareness and unlock the potential of our gold project in Yellowknife.”

Share option summary date of grant                                         Aug. 28, 2020
Exercise price                                                      0.7315 British pound
Closing (AIM) market price on date of grant                         0.6650 British pound
Number of ordinary shares subject to share options granted                     5,100,000
Option validity period                                                        five years
Option vesting period                                                    up to 18 months

The share options have been granted under the company’s 2019 enterprise management incentive (EMI) share option scheme and its 2019 non-EMI share option scheme as adopted by shareholders at its annual general meeting in June, 2020. Included within the share options are share options to purchase 4.5 million ordinary shares granted to directors and persons discharging managerial responsibilities (PDMR). The balance of the share options (to purchase 600,000 ordinary shares) was granted to company employees.

                                  SHARE OPTIONS GRANTED TO DIRECTORS AND PDMRS
                                                                                      Number of ordinary shares
                                                   Number of ordinary shares   granted subject to share options
                                                    subject to share options   as a percentage of the company's
PDRM                                   Position                      granted       current issued share capital

David Netherway          non-executive chairman                      400,000                              0.57%
                        chief executive officer
Steven Poulton                     and director                    1,000,000                              1.43%
Matthew Grainger             executive director                      800,000                              1.14%
Robert Milroy*           non-executive director                      300,000                              0.43%
Michael Winn             non-executive director                      250,000                              0.36%
Karim Nasr               non-executive director                      250,000                              0.36%
Martin Keylock          chief financial officer                      300,000                              0.43%
Alister Hume       business development manager                      300,000                              0.43%
Sandra Bates                    general counsel                      300,000                              0.43%
William Slater                   VP, operations                      300,000                              0.43%
Richard Belcher                 VP, exploration                      300,000                              0.43%
Total                                                              4,500,000                              6.42%

Notes 
* Options were granted in the name of Milroy Capital Ltd.
Percentages are subject to rounding.                                                                                                                                                   

Share option vesting conditions

For executive directors and employees, the share options vest in two equal tranches after 12 months and after 18 months. For non-executive directors, the share options vest in two equal tranches immediately and after 12 months.

MONTRÉAL, Sept. 1, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ – Cerro de Pasco Resources Inc. (CSE: CDPR) (OTCMKTS: GPPRF) (Frankfurt : N8HP) (“CDPR” or the “Company”) is providing the following update.

60-day Extension of the Cerro de Pasco Acquisition Agreement

CDPR has agreed to extend the acquisition agreement of the Cerro de Pasco Mine, described below, with Volcan Compañia Minera S.A.A. (BVL: VOLCABC1) and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Volcan”) until October 30, 2020. The Company’s management continues to advance towards a successful closing and has extended the agreement date to enable the amendment of certain key terms to the benefit of both parties in the Transaction. The closing of the Transaction is expected to occur on or before October 30, 2020 subject to standard closing conditions and procedures being met.

About the Transaction

On November 28, 2019, the Company announced the execution of a definitive share purchase agreement dated November 27, 2019 (the “Agreement“) with Volcan, whereby CDPR will acquire all of the issued shares of Oxidos de Pasco S.A.C., Empresa Administradora de Cerro S.A.C and Remediadora Ambiental S.A.C.. The arm’s length transaction (the “Transaction“) will provide CDPR ownership and operation of all mining and processing assets in Cerro de Pasco, Central Peru, including a precious metal leach plant and a base and precious metals concentrator, together having a permitted capacity of almost twenty thousand tonnes per day.

For further details about the Transaction please referred to the press release issued on November 28, 2019.

Sprott Capital Partners LP

Cerro de Pasco has retained Sprott Capital Partners (“Sprott Capital“) as its financial advisor in relation to the funding of the Transaction. Sprott Capital is uniquely positioned to advise and support CDPR in this landmark and transformational transaction, having recently completed numerous transactions in the natural resources sector. Sprott Capital is a division of Sprott Inc., an alternative asset manager.

Private Placement

Further to the news release of August 21, 2020, CDPR completed a non-brokered private placement offering (the “Offering“) for gross proceeds of $1,000,000 and issued 3,333,334 units of the Company (“Units“) at a price of at a price of $0.30 per Unit.

Under the different tranches of the Offering, the Company raised aggregate gross proceeds of $3,000,000 (please refer to the press releases issued on August 21, July 2, June 16 and June 11, 2020).

Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (“Share“) and one common share purchase warrant (“Warrant“). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Share at a price of $0.50 per Share for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance provided however that the Company shall be entitled to accelerate the expiry of the Warrants to the date that is 30 days following the date a notice is provided to the holder in the event that the volume weighted average price of the Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange exceeds $1.00 per Share for any twenty (20) consecutive trading days at any time prior to the expiry of the Warrants.

In connection with the current tranche of the Offering, the Company issued 250,000 finder warrants to arm’s length third parties, each entitling its holder to purchase one Share at a price of $0.365 per Share until August 28, 2022.

The Company will use the net proceeds of the Offering for working capital purposes and towards advancing exploration drilling at its historical Quiulacocha polymetallic tailings storage facility which is an immediately adjacent property to the Cerro de Pasco Mine.

Any securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a hold period under applicable securities laws which will expire four months and one day from the date of their issuance.

Grant of Stock Options

Cerro de Pasco also announces that it has granted incentive stock options to directors, officers, employees, and consultants of Cerro de Pasco to acquire an aggregate of 4.5 million common shares at $0.40 per share, for a period of 3 to 5 years. These incentive stock options have been granted in accordance with CDPR’s Stock Option Plan.

The central focus of Omineca’s 2020 gold exploration program is to locate the presumed multiple bedrock sources of placer gold recovered by Omineca in the 2012 underground bulk sampling program.

Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd.’s management would like to recognize the Ministry and its various agencies and contractors for their efforts in keeping this project moving amidst the challenges that Covid 19 has presented. Omineca would also like to extend its thanks to the Lhtako Dene Nation, Red Bluff Indian Band for their open communication and input. Omineca looks forward to a mutually successful project in the Cariboo Mining District.

The Company will provide regular updates as the drill program progresses.

About Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd.
Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd. controls its flagship Wingdam Project and the Fraser Canyon Project through its wholly owned subsidiary CVG Mining Ltd. The Wingdam Project is located 45 km east of Quesnel B.C. on the Barkerville highway. The property includes both placer and hard-rock tenures now totaling over 39,000 hectares (390 square kms) surrounding the Lightning Creek valley. Topographic conditions created a thick overburden which preserved a large portion of an underground channel from conventional surface placer mining activity. For 2020, Omineca has plans to re-start a bulk sampling program to recover placer gold trapped underground while also conducting a diamond drill program to explore for multiple potential hard rock sources of the placer gold.

Effective August 28th, 2020 Group 11’s founding partners have finalized all necessary organizational, shareholder, and licensing documentation and will now commence formal operations. Group 11’s initial steps will include the acquisition and subsequent testing of already identified gold projects that demonstrate specific qualities lending themselves to the Company’s environmentally and economically superior processes. Group 11 is committed to providing commercially viable, sustainable alternatives to conventional mining for the extraction and processing of precious metals.
Group 11 was founded and is owned by enCore Energy Corp. (“enCore”) (TSXV: EU; OTCQB: ENCUF) with 40% of the common stock, EnviroLeach Technologies Inc. (“EnviroLeach”) (CSE : ETI; OTCQB: EVLLF) with 40% of the common stock and Golden Predator Mining Corp. (“Golden Predator”) (TSXV: GPY; OTCQB: NTGSF) with 20% of the common stock. EnCore has contributed $750,000 in initial funding and will provide in-situ extraction expertise, EnviroLeach has entered into a license agreement with Group 11 for the use of its environmentally friendly metal recovery process and will provide chemical and metallurgical expertise, Golden Predator will contribute mobile processing equipment and expertise in utilizing EnviroLeach’s environmentally friendly solution for recovery of gold from sulphide concentrates. Group 11, a private company, will finance all ongoing research and development expenditures for in-situ and secondary recovery applications.

Highlights

Current field testing builds on a strong foundation of laboratory testing dating back to 2016 which has demonstrated the potential, and controls for, carbon capture by Baptiste tailings by both direct air capture and CO2 injection from flue gas

Field tests, from August to October 2020, are being conducted on splits of a 300 kilogram sample to simulate the rate and volume of carbon sequestration by direct air capture of CO2 from Baptiste tailings under field conditions typical of an eventual mining operation

Preliminary testing will also be conducted to provide indications of the extent to which carbon sequestration may enhance the geotechnical stability of the host material

“This test program is designed primarily to estimate the potential of Baptiste tailings to permanently sequester significant quantities of carbon dioxide by direct air capture under natural conditions as a consequence of the proposed mining and milling process,” commented Martin Turenne, FPX Nickel’s President and CEO. “The Baptiste Project has the potential to be a global leader in the large-scale production of low- or zero-carbon nickel for decades to come. We look forward to sharing the results of these field tests in the coming months.”

Background

The field tests are being overseen by UBC’s Dr. Greg Dipple, who has been investigating carbon capture in mine tailings for over a decade, and specifically the potential of the Baptiste Project tailings since 2016. Dr. Dipple is an international leader in the research of carbon sequestration; his studies have incorporated findings from several operating sites, including BHP’s Mt. Keith nickel mine in Australia and DeBeers’ Diavik diamond operations in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

Detailed mineralogical examination conducted by the UBC research team has shown that the amount of CO2 that can be sequestered in ultramafic host rock is strongly controlled by the amount of the mineral brucite (Mg(OH) 2), which when exposed to air, through a natural process of carbon mineralization, forms solid magnesium carbonate which is geologically stable. This team has also developed a method for determining the amount of brucite in each assay sample within the Baptiste mineral resource, allowing for the potential development of a targeted approach to carbon sequestration over the life of an eventual mining operation at Baptiste.

Previous test results suggest that the principal rate-limiting factor on the amount of CO2 sequestration in Baptiste material is the volume of CO2 available for exposure to the brucite contained in the host rock. These results suggest further avenues of study to investigate various engineering options to improve the contact rate between CO2 and brucite.

Carbon sequestration can also occur via the reaction of CO2 with the serpentine minerals which are also present in the Baptiste Project, though this reaction is significantly weaker than the CO2 reaction with brucite.

2020 Test Program

The field work is designed to test the rate and amount of carbon capture from direct air exposure and to assess how this process is affected by normal climactic changes typical of central British Columbia. A portion of the sample material is being fully exposed to local weather conditions throughout the field experiment, with another portion forming a control sample in a covered outdoor area.

This work will be completed on a representative mineralized composite sample of approximately 300 kilograms of assay reject material from drill holes, ground to the similar sizes as the anticipated tailings in a potential mining operation.

The test program is being conducted in two stages. The first stage comprises a field test in August at an outdoor location in Prince George which approximates the climactic conditions at the Decar Nickel District. The second stage comprises an extended study to be conducted both outdoors and in a laboratory in the Vancouver area in September and October. Testing during this latter stage will assess the rate and quantity of carbon capture by exposure of Baptiste material to air and to injected CO2 gas.

In addition to the geochemical tests assessing the rate and quantity of carbon sequestration, tests during both stages of the program will be conducted to measure the change in the physical properties of the crushed rock sample, particularly to understand the extent to which the carbon sequestration process may enhance the geotechnical stability of the host material.

The Company has engaged a senior consulting engineering firm to provide input on the design and execution of the UBC test programs, to assist in the interpretation of test results, and to guide future work programs which could ultimately support the incorporation of carbon sequestration parameters into the tailings design for the Baptiste Project.

The Company expects to report the preliminary findings of the August field trial in the first quarter of 2021, and to report the final findings of the entire 2020 test program (including both the August field trial and subsequent field and lab testing from September-October) by the second quarter of 2021.

Funding for the Baptiste field test has been provided, in part, by the Government of Canada’s Clean Growth Program, which in 2019 awarded a $2 million grant to researchers from UBC, Trent University, University of Alberta and Universite INRS, working in collaboration with mining companies including FPX Nickel Corp. and De Beers Group. For further information on this government grant, see FPX Nickel’s news release dated July 24, 2019.

Dr. Peter Bradshaw, P. Eng., FPX Nickel’s Qualified Person under NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

About the Decar Nickel District

The Company’s Decar Nickel District claims cover 245 square kilometres of the Mount Sidney Williams ultramafic/ophiolite complex, 90 km northwest of Fort St. James in central British Columbia. The District is a two hour drive from Fort St. James on a high-speed logging road.

Decar hosts a greenfield discovery of nickel mineralization in the form of a naturally occurring nickel-iron alloy called awaruite, which is amenable to bulk-tonnage, open-pit mining. Awaruite mineralization has been identified in four target areas within this ophiolite complex, being the Baptiste Project, the B target, the Sid target and Van target, as confirmed by drilling in the first three plus petrographic examination, electron probe analyses and outcrop sampling on all four. Since 2010, more than $25 million has been spent on the exploration and development of Decar.

Of the four targets in the Decar Nickel District, the Baptiste Project has been the main focus of diamond drilling since 2010, with a total of 82 holes and over 31,000 metres of drilling completed. The Sid target was tested with two holes in 2010 and the B target had a single hole drilled into it in 2011; all three holes intersected nickel-iron alloy mineralization over wide intervals with DTR nickel grades comparable to the Baptiste Project. The Van target was not drill-tested at that time as rock exposure was very poor prior to logging activity by forestry companies.

As reported in a NI 43-101 resource estimate prepared on February 26, 2018, the Baptiste deposit contains 1.843 billion tonnes of indicated resources at an average grade of 0.123% DTR nickel, for 2.3 million tonnes of DTR nickel, and 391 million tonnes of inferred resources with an average grade of 0.115% DTR nickel, for 0.4 million tonnes of DTR nickel, reported at a cut-off grade of 0.06%. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.